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About the company

Directa Plus is one of the largest producers and suppliers worldwide of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial products.

Our graphene-based products are natural, chemical-free and sustainably produced. They are found in commercial applications such as smart textiles, tyres, composite materials and environmental solutions, and they’re suitable for many other uses as well. We partner with our customers to enable them to offer the high-performance benefits of graphene, identified by the G+ brand, in their own products.

Established in 2005, our company has a unique and patented technology process and a scalable and portable manufacturing model. We produce graphene-based products at our own factory near Milan, Italy, and can set up additional production at customer locations to reduce transport costs, waste and time-to-utilisation. We are committed to environmental sustainability and abide by a strong Code of Ethics in all aspects of our business practice (access the full Code here).

Key people

Board members Italy

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Giulio Cesareo

President

Giulio Cesareo is one of the founders of Directa Plus. He began his professional career in 1982 in Italy working for Falck and Techint. From 1986 to 2004, he worked in the carbon and graphite field for Union Carbide, UCAR and Graftech, reaching the positions of the President and CEO of the Italian company and Vice President and General Manager of the Advanced Carbon and Graphite business unit. In his role at Union Carbide, Giulio managed business units in the USA, France and Italy.

Giulio Cesareo was awarded a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan, an MBA and an Executive MBA from Bocconi University of Milan and attended Strategic and Financial Management Programs at Stanford University (USA). He is a member of the Advisory Board of the National Graphene Association, the main organisation in the US promoting the commercialisation of graphene. In addition, Giulio serves as a board member of Fondazione Quarta, a non-profit organisation focussed on scientific research in areas of social activity and was also a board member of Centro di cultura scientifica “Alessandro Volta”, an organisation aimed at promoting the practical applications of a scientific culture.[+more]

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Razvan Popescu

Executive Director

Razvan Popescu obtained a Master of Science degree in Inorganic Chemistry at University Politehnica of Bucharest. He has over 15 years of technical and strategic leadership experience. Until 2013, he worked for Bozzetto Group, a specialty chemical manufacturer, where he was Business Unit Manager and President of the American Branch. More recently, he was President and Managing Director of ISPH S.A. He brings to Directa Plus experience and expertise as an international business developer and industry innovator. [+more]

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Marco Ferrari

Executive Director

Prior to joining Directa Plus, Marco was a financial advisor at EY, involved in several M&A transactions, with a focus on energy, renewable energy and oil & gas industries. Other experience includes Deutsche Bank, Deloitte and Dezan Shira & Associates in China. Marco holds a degree in Business Administration and Master of Science in Administration Finance and Control from Università Commerciale ‘Luigi Bocconi’.[+more]

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Laura Giorgia Rizzi, PhD

Executive Director

Dr. Laura Giorgia Rizzi obtained a Master of Physics Engineering degree in 2009 and a PhD in Physics in 2012 from Politecnico di Milano, the latter funded by Directa Plus. Her PhD activity was entirely devoted to graphene research: at Directa Plus (as part of her PhD), she focused on the largescale production and characterisation of graphene nanoplatelets and at the Politecnico di Milano she focused on the development of graphene-based devices. She is currently the R&D Manager of Directa Plus, following her activities related to the G+ process, and product and applications development. [+more]

Board members UK

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Sir Peter Middleton

Non-Executive Chairman

Sir Peter Middleton GCB is Chairman of Burford Capital, the Resort Group and Hamilton Ventures. He was Chairman of Marsh Ltd between 2005 and 2013, UK Chairman of Marsh & McLennan Companies between 2007 and 2014 and Chairman of Mercer Ltd between 2009 and 2014. He was also previously Chairman of Camelot Group plc and Chairman of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. He was a Director, Chairman and Deputy Chairman of United Utilities from 1994-2007, a Board member of OJSC Mobile Telesystems from 2005-2007 and a board member of Bass plc from 1992-2001 and General Accident (later CGU) from 1992-1995.

Sir Peter spent nearly 30 years at HM Treasury, working closely with nine Chancellors, and was Permanent Secretary from 1983 to 1991. Sir Peter became Group Chairman of Barclays Bank plc in April 1999 and retired in August 2004. He joined Barclays in 1991 as Group Deputy Chairman and Executive Chairman of BZW, became Chairman of Barclays Capital following the reorganisation of BZW in October 1997 and was Group Chief Executive from November 1998 until October 1999. He was also President of the British Bankers Association from 2004-2006 and a member of the National Institute for Economic Research from 1996-2007. [+more]

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Giulio Cesareo

CEO and Founder

Giulio Cesareo is one of the founders of Directa Plus. He began his professional career in 1982 in Italy working for Falck and Techint. From 1986 to 2004, he worked in the carbon and graphite field for Union Carbide, UCAR and Graftech, reaching the positions of the President and CEO of the Italian company and Vice President and General Manager of the Advanced Carbon and Graphite business unit. In his role at Union Carbide, Giulio managed business units in the USA, France and Italy.

Giulio Cesareo was awarded a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan, an MBA and an Executive MBA from Bocconi University of Milan and attended Strategic and Financial Management Programs at Stanford University (USA). He is a member of the Advisory Board of the National Graphene Association, the main organisation in the US promoting the commercialisation of graphene. In addition, Giulio serves as a board member of Fondazione Quarta, a non-profit organisation focussed on scientific research in areas of social activity and was also a board member of Centro di cultura scientifica “Alessandro Volta”, an organisation aimed at promoting the practical applications of a scientific culture.[+more]

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Marco Ferrari

Chief Financial Officer

Prior to joining Directa Plus, Marco was a financial advisor at EY, involved in several M&A transactions, with a focus on energy, renewable energy and oil & gas industries. Other experience includes Deutsche Bank, Deloitte and Dezan Shira & Associates in China. Marco holds a degree in Business Administration and Master of Science in Administration Finance and Control from Università Commerciale ‘Luigi Bocconi’.[+more]

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David Gann

Non-Executive Director

David Gann CBE CEng FICE FCGI is a renowned expert on technological innovation and an accomplished business and academic leader. He is Imperial College London’s Vice-President (Innovation) and member of the College’s Executive Board. He has deep experience mentoring start-ups, supporting fast growth technology businesses and developing long-term strategic partnerships with multinational technology corporations. He is Professor of Innovation and Technology Management with a PhD in Industrial Economics. He is a Chartered Civil Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art and Fellow, City & Guilds Institute. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to engineering, and received the 2014 Tjalling C. Koopmans Asset Award for extraordinary contributions to the economic sciences. David is a member of the London Enterprise Panel and Chairman of the Smart London Board. His industrial experience includes serving as Laing O’Rourke plc’s Group Executive for research and innovation between 2007-2011. He advises executives and boards on innovation and technology management, including Citigroup, IBM, Huawei, McLaren and Tata Group. [+more]

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Neil Warner

Non-Executive Director

Neil Warner has strong financial and managerial experience in multi-national businesses. He is the senior independent director and chairman of the audit committee at Trifast plc and he is also a non-executive director of Vectura Group plc where he is chairman of the audit committee. Formerly he served as non-executive chairman of Enteq Upstream plc and as Finance Director at Chloride Group plc, a position he held for 14 years until its acquisition by Emerson Electric. Prior to this, Neil spent six years at Exel plc (formerly Ocean Group plc and now part of DHL following its acquisition by Deutsche Post in December 2005) where he held a number of senior posts in financial planning, treasury and control. He has also held senior positions in Balfour Beatty plc (formerly BICC Group plc), Alcoa and PricewaterhouseCoopers and was non-executive director of Dechra Pharmaceuticals plc where he was the senior independent director and Chair of the Audit Committee.[+more]

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Richard Hickinbotham

Non-Executive Director

Richard Hickinbotham is an experienced City professional having served as Head of Equity Research at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe and Charles Stanley. Prior to this,he held a number of senior positions at Investec, including Global Head of Research and Co-Head of Investment Banking. He has also served as Head of Pan-European Small and Midcap Research at S.G. Warburg & Co. (acquired by UBS). Richard is currently a Non-executive Director of AB Dynamics plc. Richard holds a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.[+more]

Scientific Committee

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Robert Angelo Mercuri

President of the Scientific Committee

Robert Angelo Mercuri is a founder of Directa Plus and the inventor of its technologies. He brings with him a great experience from the fields of chemistry, electro-chemicals and their development and processes. He is the inventor of 360 patents and he has also been involved in the technological development of many of the largest American companies. He has also been Chief Engineer and Scientific Consultant in a number of programs for the US Defense and Atomic Energy departments. [+more]

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Giulio Cesareo

CEO and Founder

Giulio Cesareo is one of the founders of Directa Plus. He began his professional career in 1982 in Italy working for Falck and Techint. From 1986 to 2004, he worked in the carbon and graphite field for Union Carbide, UCAR and Graftech, reaching the positions of the President and CEO of the Italian company and Vice President and General Manager of the Advanced Carbon and Graphite business unit. In his role at Union Carbide, Giulio managed business units in the USA, France and Italy.

Giulio Cesareo was awarded a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan, an MBA and an Executive MBA from Bocconi University of Milan and attended Strategic and Financial Management Programs at Stanford University (USA). He is a member of the Advisory Board of the National Graphene Association, the main organisation in the US promoting the commercialisation of graphene. In addition, Giulio serves as a board member of Fondazione Quarta, a non-profit organisation focussed on scientific research in areas of social activity and was also a board member of Centro di cultura scientifica “Alessandro Volta”, an organisation aimed at promoting the practical applications of a scientific culture.[+more]

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Werner Tillmetz

Scientific Advisor

Werner Tillmetz is member of the Executive Board of the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW) in Ulm and Scientific Spokesman of the New German Consortium developing batteries for tomorrow's electric cars. Werner Tillmetz was the Executive Vice President of a world leader in catalysts. He brings with him international experience from the research world and knowledge of the field of batteries and fuel cells.[+more]

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Roman Sordan

Scientific Advisor

Roman Sordan is the head of the Nanoscale device group at the L-NESS Como which belongs to the Polytechnic University of Milan. He has experience in the production of graphene and various industrial applications of this material. The main research interest of his group is the development and fabrication of novel graphene nanoelectronic devices. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1999 in solid state physics, he spent 5 years working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, Germany. There, he worked on molecular electronics developing carbon-nanotube memory devices and logic gates. His group in Como was the first to experimentally realize the main building blocks of all-graphene electronics (logic gates, integrated circuits, graphene nanoribbon memory cells, high-gain voltage amplifiers and inverters, and ring oscillators). [+more]

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Giovanni Camino

Scientific Advisor

Giovanni Camino graduated in Chemistry in July 1966 at the University of Torino where he was Assistant Professor (1966-1969), researcher with the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (National Research Council, 1969-1987), Associate Professor of Macromolecular Chemistry (1987-2001). Full Professor in Industrial Chemistry at the Polythecnic of Torino (2001-2011) where he is now “Senior Professor”. His reasearch interests covered mechanisms and kinetics of polymerisation initially and since 1975, the mechanisms of degradation, stabilisation of polymers with particular reference to mechanisms of polymer combustion and fire retardance with pioneering work on mechanism of intumescence. Prof. Camino's interests also cover materials from renewable resources, ageing of polymer materials and polymer recycling. Since 1998 Prof. Camino is active in the field of polymer nanocomposites with particular reference to their thermal and combustion behaviour. Prof. Camino is author/coauthor of about 290 papers published in international peer reviewed journals and of 8 chapters in books. He is member of the editorial Board of: “Polymer Degradation and Stability”, “Fire and Materials”, “Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Kinetics”, “Journal of Vinyl and Additive Technology”, “European Polymer Journal” and “Advances in Polymer Technology”. Since 2011, Prof. Camino collaborates with Directa Plus on graphenes applications in polymer materials. [+more]

Management Team

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Giulio Cesareo

CEO and Founder

Giulio Cesareo is one of the founders of Directa Plus. He began his professional career in 1982 in Italy working for Falck and Techint. From 1986 to 2004, he worked in the carbon and graphite field for Union Carbide, UCAR and Graftech, reaching the positions of the President and CEO of the Italian company and Vice President and General Manager of the Advanced Carbon and Graphite business unit. In his role at Union Carbide, Giulio managed business units in the USA, France and Italy.

Giulio Cesareo was awarded a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan, an MBA and an Executive MBA from Bocconi University of Milan and attended Strategic and Financial Management Programs at Stanford University (USA). He is a member of the Advisory Board of the National Graphene Association, the main organisation in the US promoting the commercialisation of graphene. In addition, Giulio serves as a board member of Fondazione Quarta, a non-profit organisation focussed on scientific research in areas of social activity and was also a board member of Centro di cultura scientifica “Alessandro Volta”, an organisation aimed at promoting the practical applications of a scientific culture.[+more]

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Razvan Popescu

COO – Business Development

Razvan Popescu obtained a Master of Science degree in Inorganic Chemistry at University Politehnica of Bucharest. He has over 15 years of technical and strategic leadership experience. Until 2013, he worked for Bozzetto Group, a specialty chemical manufacturer, where he was Business Unit Manager and President of the American Branch. More recently, he was President and Managing Director of ISPH S.A. He brings to Directa Plus experience and expertise as an international business developer and industry innovator. From November 2016, Razvan is the Sole Director of Directa Textile Solutions. [+more]

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Marco Ferrari

Chief Financial Officer

Prior to joining Directa Plus, Marco was a financial advisor at EY, involved in several M&A transactions, with a focus on energy, renewable energy and oil & gas industries. Other experience includes Deutsche Bank, Deloitte and Dezan Shira & Associates in China. Marco holds a degree in Business Administration and Master of Science in Administration Finance and Control from Università Commerciale ‘Luigi Bocconi’.[+more]

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Laura Giorgia Rizzi, PhD

CTO - Chief Technical Officer

Dr. Laura Giorgia Rizzi obtained a Master of Physics Engineering degree in 2009 and a PhD in Physics in 2012 from Politecnico di Milano, the latter funded by Directa Plus. Her PhD activity was entirely devoted to graphene research: at Directa Plus (as part of her PhD), she focused on the largescale production and characterisation of graphene nanoplatelets and at the Politecnico di Milano she focused on the development of graphene-based devices. She is currently the Chief Technology Officer of Directa Plus, following her activities related to the G+ process, and product and applications development. [+more]

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Tiziana Sarto

Sales Manager

Tiziana obtained a Master in International Relations and European Integration degree, with a thesis on Advanced Economics, at Milan Catholic University in 2009 and, in 2010, a Master in Marketing and Communication degree at Sole 24 Business School. Before joining Directa Plus in April 2015, she worked for Bureau van Dijk, one of the leading global business information providers. Tiziana is a B2B Sales & Marketing specialist, with strong communication skills in Italian, English and French, and a client-centred philosophy. [+more]